


Invitations

by Capella



Category: Star Wars: The Old Republic
Genre: Exhibitionism, F/F, pre-femmeslash, unexpected courting methods
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-25
Updated: 2012-12-25
Packaged: 2017-11-22 11:13:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/609204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Capella/pseuds/Capella
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cipher Nine brings Watcher Two a present with unexpected implications. The Watcher finds it promising enough to issue an invitation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Invitations

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sister_coyote](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sister_coyote/gifts).



The small part of Watcher Two’s brain not occupied by decoding the one-time-use cipher used by the Balmorran station chief registered the sound of footsteps entering her area. She knew the footfalls of the people most likely to visit her without needing to engage in pattern recognition, and the sound at the edge of hearing was the soft tread of the person she most wanted to have stop by her station.  
  
Normally the Watcher wasn’t bothered by disruption in her work environment, but she already knew that the Cipher in question affected her more strongly than anyone else in Intelligence. The fact that she could feel her pulse and respiration changing involuntarily was proof of that. As soon as the other woman was in range of her voice, she held up a hand. “A moment, Cipher, while I finish this decryption.” No response, of course, because the Cipher was polite and her Imperial discipline absolute.   
  
It took two point three minutes to finish the decryption, and the Watcher felt a flash of irritation at herself. It should have only taken two point one. Clearly she was slipping. She turned away from her workstation to smile at her visitor.   
  
The other woman was standing in perfect parade rest with her hands behind her back, not in a proper Imperial uniform, but instead in a brown leather jacket and tight white pants - the type of showy outfit favored by cocky spacers who thought their sex appeal had any bearing on the quality of their work. The arrogance of the space lane trash was disgusting - only Imperials should take such pride in their skills - but the Watcher did have to admit that the outfit showed off the Cipher’s assets rather well.   
  
“Cipher. I didn’t know you were back in Kaas City. I thought you weren’t due for another four hours.”  
  
“I wanted to deliver your present. I know we won’t have much time to talk about anything non-mission once I’m officially back.” She pulled her hands out from behind her back to display a wrapped box. “You should open it.”  
  
The Watcher stood up long enough to take the box and then settled back in her chair. “Is there a reason for this gift?” she inquired.  
  
The agent shifted her weight onto her left leg, a gesture the Watcher knew meant nervousness. “It’s Life Day in the Republic, some Wookiee holiday. There was a big fuss about it on Corellia.”  
  
Watcher Two wrinkled her nose. “You bought me a Wookiee gift?”  
  
“Oh no, it’s not Wookie!” the Cipher hastened to assure her. “But there were so many good sales on presents because of the tradition, so it made it easier to put this together.” She took a deep breath, plunged on. “I wanted to thank you. You’ve been a good partner, and I couldn’t have achieved vital mission successes without you. I know you said you don’t get too close to your agents, but you seem to have opened up with me, and well - I appreciate it.”  
  
Watcher Two had gotten all of the wrapping off by the time the agent finished the last line. She looked up and let herself smile slightly. “It’s nice to have someone I trust not to die in a stupid fashion, Cipher.”  
  
“Great. Thanks. What do you think?”  
  
The Watcher inspected the box’s items. There was a beautiful antique metal frame that looked analog, but a quick run of her fingers over it found the discreetly concealed slot for a holodisk. Below it was a datapad. She flicked it on, only to be confronted by an encryption puzzle that she couldn’t immediately identify, which was fairly rare and must have taken some time to come up with.  
  
“The frame is to display what’s on the datapad,” the Cipher said the moment that the Watcher looked up. “I might as well tell you what’s on it. Remember how you told me the mountains of Alderaan were reputedly lovely? I took some holos while I was there, so you could see for yourself, even though you’re here at HQ. Then I decided to add some holos of other places I’ve been, even if they’re not as spectacular. And then-” She stopped mid sentence, colored. “And I hope you like the puzzle,” she finished.  
  
“Thank you for thinking of me, Cipher,” Watcher Two answered. “I’ve never had a present before.”  
  
“Really? Well. Then I hope you like it. It would be awful if you hated your very first present.” The Cipher raised onto her toes, then dipped back down. “I should go change. It’s probably been noted that my Phantom’s landed and Keeper’s going to want my report. You should solve this when you have time. I will see you later.” And before Two could say anything, the Cipher was gone.  
  
The Watcher habitually skipped break time in favor of continuing her work, but the Cipher’s visit had distracted her anyway, so she marked herself clocked out and turned her attention to the puzzle. It took nearly six minutes to unravel the encryption and access the file system. Inside were directories of holos, categorized by section of the galaxy then by planet. Efficient system, she thought. The Cipher had been right - the mountains were lovely in the holograms; the Imperial taken ones were focused on strategic points, not on attractive segments of wilderness.   
  
There was one directory that was untitled and had a smaller encryption. Curiosity piqued, she solved that one and opened the first image - and flushed at the risque content. It was a slightly-blurred security camera shot of Cipher Nine in the middle of seducing a target on Nar Shaddaa, clad in a black lace corset with maroon trim along the top of the breasts, a short black leather skirt, and knee-high boots with an impossibly long heel. The second shot was of the Cipher and the target lying on a couch, the target’s hand up the Cipher’s dress while the Cipher’s mouth was on her half-exposed breast. Watcher Two continued to scroll through them until the last photo in the first series, which showed the target passed out on the couch, while the naked Cipher was looking up at the holo in mid-whisper. With a shock, the Watcher realized that the Cipher was mouthing the Watcher's birth name.  
  
Watcher Two’s hands shook as she set aside the datapad. She entered a few quick commands to her terminal and then composed a text message to the Cipher’s personal datapad.  _I’ve authorized your access to my quarters. You should stop by for a late dinner if your debrief is efficient, which I know it will be. You can tell me the provenance of all the photos. You should also wear the black corset._

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to strike a balance between them having worked together for a bit and still learning about each other. I also hope the unorthodox nature of the proposition is fine; I figure agents in general aren't much for expressing feelings directly, especially not when they need to be guarded like Ciphers or have little social contact like Watchers, so obliquely addressing it made sense to me.


End file.
